Every so often, a movie comes around that is perfect in every way and on Friday, July 15, a perfect movie will begin lighting up the silver screen across the country—“Winnie the Pooh.”  
Set against the backdrop of the famous Hundred Acre Wood, the new “Winnie the Pooh” movie is another chronicle of the simple, yet lovely, adventures of everyone’s favorite stuffed bear and all of his friends.  To bring this new Pooh to life, directors Don Hall and Stephen Anderson worked closely veteran Disney animator, story man and director Burny Mattinson, who has worked on every Pooh project since 1974, to serve as senior story artist. 

“He (Burny Mattinson) was our ‘Pooh guru,’” said Hall. “Everything had to go through him.  And more often than not he was the one pushing forward with stuff.”

To craft the story for the new movie, they read (or reread) A.A. Milne’s classic books and poems about Winnie the Pooh and Christopher Robin for inspiration.  With animators in tow, the principals on the film went to the real Hundred Acre Wood, also known as Ashdown Forest, where Milne wrote the books and the real Christopher Robin spent his summer vacations.

 

As a summer movie, “Winnie the Pooh” provides for children ages 2 to 102 a light, refreshing film with many light-hearted laughs, beautiful 2-D hand-drawn animation, and a story line that is fun for all and leaves out references to the trappings of modern day life.  The film relies on beautiful art and intelligent, sweet story telling to keep audiences entertained—in contrast to many of today’s movies that rely more on explosions and crazy gags to keep audiences engaged.


“We’re parents and we see plenty of movies that aren’t funny,” Hall said. “We know how that can be…I knew that if it (the book) could make me laugh out loud, it could translate for a broad audience.”


Hall, Anderson, Mattinson, producer Peter Del Vecho and everyone else involved in this film got it right…100% right.  Whether you are a lifelong Pooh fan or a parent being dragged to the theater by an excited 5-year-old, you will leave the theater with a sense of joy and happiness that can only be provided by a silly old bear and his cuddly friends.

Stop back by all week for many more Winnie the Pooh-related posts!